May 13, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) of the UCF men's tennis team missed the entire 2009 spring campaign due to an injury. Now healthy, the redshirt sophomore recently picked up a big win on the ATP Futures Circuit.
At the Venezuela F1 Futures in Maracay, Romano recorded a 6-7 (6), 6-0, 3-1 (ret.) win over fifth-seed Miguel Cicenia in the first round. Cicenia is rated as the 682nd-best player in the world.
The ATP Futures Circuit consists of college-level players and young amateurs. The circuit is a qualifier for the ATP Challenger Circuit, which is a series of more than 100 events held in over 40 countries each year. The circuits allow up and coming stars of the future to prove their skills, while competing for ATP rankings points.
Romano did appear in several events for the Knights during the 2008 fall season. He went 5-1 in singles action and won the flight two title at the USF Invitational. He was expected to compete for a spot in the top of the lineup in dual-match play, but was unable to compete.
As a freshman, Romano went 12-6 during the spring. At the No. 5 position, he won all 10 of his matches.
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